Startup Hustle

The 21st Century opened a lot of possibilities for women and women-identifying individuals alike. In this era of women empowerment, InnovateHER KC creates a community of women of many professions: politicians, educators, doctors, designers and community leaders, both at a micro and macro level. In this episode, Matt DeCoursey and Matt Watson are joined by Lauren Conaway, CEO, and founder of Innova...

In this second installment of the Business Failure series, Jake Randall is back to continue his story of how he was able to counter business failure and learn from the harsh experiences. Listen for some dose of inspiration on how he overcame the loss of his business and the lessons he learned in the process.   Find Startup Hustle Everywhere: https://linktr.ee/startuphustle   This episode...

It’s pretty common for new businesses to fail, so it is essential to learn how to counter failure. In today’s episode, Matt DeCoursey welcomes guest co-host Jake Randall as they talk about how Randall bounced back to success after a major failure. Listen and learn how to emerge from failure straight from Randall himself.    Find Startup Hustle Everywhere: https://linktr.ee/st...

Technology has the highest dropout level for women compared to any other industry. Matt and Matt are accompanied by the lead angular developer at Bitovi, founder, and president of Kansas City Women in Technology, Jennifer Wadella. Kansas City Women in Technology is a grassroots organization with the aim of increasing the number of women in the technology industry in Kansas City. It was founded in...

Do you have a brilliant idea sitting on the shelf? An idea that is just waiting for a chance to shine in the spotlight? This podcast will inspire you to take the first step toward turning that idea into a reality. In today’s Startup Hustle episode, Matt and Matt are joined by Kilee Nickels, a fashion blogger and the founder of an up-and-coming accessories and apparel company, Nickel & Su...

From former lawyer to sports agent to adjunct professor at William Jewell College, Tyler Prochnow, CEO of Subscription Ink, Co., and KC Arena Sports & Entertainment, LLC, seems to be able to do it all. Tyler Prochnow takes a seat with Matt and Matt to talk about the rodeo that has been his career. Prochnow talks about his experiences and how they have helped him find success. Subscription Ink,...

Entrepreneurs are constantly innovating and creating in order to make their product stand on top of the rest. Sometimes these pushes for innovation can lead to developing neighborhoods into creative powerhouses such as Silicon Valley. In this episode of the Startup Hustle, Matt and Matt are joined by the CEO of Keystone Community Corporation, Kevin McGinnis. Keystone Community Corporation is pursu...

Some say learning music at a young age is beneficial and critically important to a child's growth. Meyer Music has provided musical equipment to schools in the Kansas City area for over 60 years. Matt and Matt sit down with Mike Meyer, 2nd generation owner of Meyer Music, to talk about the struggles of maintaining a music retail store. Listen as Decoursey reminisces about his past involvement in t...

Nest, Google Home, and Amazon Echo are all key components to making your house smarter but how can a house be smart? In this episode of the Startup Hustle, Matt and Matt are joined by the founder and CEO of Homebase.ai , Blake Miller. Miller addresses the problems of IoT, or the Internet of Things, for startups and what kind of companies should use IoT. An Internet of Things is a network of interr...

How do you raise capital for your startup? Who should you ask for money? Where can you find people willing to invest? In this episode of the Startup Hustle, Matt and Matt sit down with the CEO and co-founder of Venture360 and LIQUIFI, Rachael Qualls. Qualls is an accomplished entrepreneur and investor, who has an eye for innovation. Her company, Venture360, provides multiple forms of management se...

Small businesses with a great potential need all the help they can get to succeed and a good place to start is by looking for venture capital. In this episode of the Startup Hustle, Matt and Matt sit down with Thad Langford, a founding partner in Flyover Capital. They discuss the do's and don'ts of venture capital and what you need to know in order to help your business succeed in its early stages...

Athletes have a certain drive that pushes them to go above and beyond and reach astonishing goals. This passion is an invaluable tool that helps them achieve their dreams but that same drive can also tear them down. Matt and Matt are joined by Chris Smith, founder of Athlete Network, to talk about the struggles of being an athlete, who is transitioning into a post-athletic world. Listen in as they...

The level of competition for startups is fierce and you need all the help you can get in order to come out on top. Accelerators are one way for you to launch your product off the ground. Matt and Matt sit down with Don Peterson, founder and former CEO of Infusion Express, and Jim Malle, business development officer at Economic Development Corporation Kansas City, to talk about LaunchKC, an acceler...

Is Chipotle a franchise or just a string of businesses owned by one company? Co-owner of The Smoothie Shop and Supplements and the co-founder and CEO of Diffactory, Kevin Oldham sits down with Matt and Matt to discuss the successes and struggles of being a franchise. Starting a franchise must always start with the burning question: Is my franchise worthy? Oldham talks about the most common mistake...

Classic analytics answers many questions regarding consumers, but it often fails to answer the question: why do consumers buy what they buy? Matt and Matt get a chance to sit down with the CEO of Proof Positioning, Grant Gooding. Proof Positioning dives deeper than classical analytics by using neuroscience to discover the emotional data behind consumer decision making. Gooding explains the problem...

In this episode of the Startup Hustle, Luke Thompson, owner of KC Soda Co. and Mass Street Soda, accompanies Matt and Matt to talk about the history behind his sodapop shop. In 2014, Thompson opened Mass Street Soda in Lawrence, Kansas because he was inspired by a craft soda store in California and another one in Oklahoma. Although he initially began working in E-Commerce and Finance, he has had a...

Do you ever remember being in a class in high school and thinking: when will I ever use this? In this episode of the Startup Hustle, Corey Mohn, executive director of Blue Valley CAPS, joins Matt and Matt to talk about providing the best education possible to all students regardless of how they learn. CAPS is a new approach to teaching at the high school level that has been recognized on the natio...

In this episode of Startup Hustle, CEO and Founder of Custom Trailer Pros, Justin Prestidge, accompany Matt and Matt to talk about the difficulties of starting and running a food truck. Okay, let's be real. Who doesn't like food trucks? They are literal meals that move on wheels. That said, statistically speaking, most restaurants fail within the first 3 years of being open. Custom Trailer Pros ai...

In this episode of Startup Hustle, Matt and Matt are joined by the managing director at Fountain City Fintech, Zach Anderson Pettit, in an interesting discussion on the purpose of being a partnership accelerator rather than just an accelerator. Banks don't always understand the needs of most startups. So, when NBKC bank went from only offering partnerships to having a full-on accelerator program,...

A couple of years ago, the idea of CBD stores being everywhere was an idea many seemed to shutter at. Now, the stigma has lessened and many have become more comfortable with the idea of these stores. Matt and Matt sit down the founders of HempHaven, Jay Humfeld and Danielle Friedrich, in this episode of the Startup Hustle and listen in as they discuss how they got started and what they are plannin...

In this episode of the Startup Hustle, Matt and Matt are accompanied by Co-Founders of Growth Acceleration Services, Doug Burris and Dan O'Reilly. Growth Acceleration Services operates on the idea of accelerating the revenue growth of early-stage technology companies. They also provide sales consulting and recruiting services. Starting a business from the ground up is difficult and can often take...

In this episode of the Startup Hustle, Foutch addresses the challenges that he encountered while trying to begin renovations on the former Kemper Arena. He also answers the "cost" question and what the point of buying an arena is. He explains that there are tons of venues across North America that are sadly withering away because of the lack of use. The Foutch Brothers decided to tackle this issue...

Connecting eager investors with early-stage companies is always top of mind for Darcy Howe, founder of the KCRise Fund. Listen in on this episode of Startup Hustle as she talks to Matt and Matt about the success she has seen in small companies. Howe doesn't stop there and talks about the struggles of doing business with large companies and why those same companies so often lack innovation. Matt an...

In this episode of Startup Hustle, Matt and Matt talk with Co-Founder and CEO of Boddle Learning, Clarence Tan. It's not always easy to keep children engaged in school, and it can be even harder to tell when they are struggling. Boddle Learning's new interactive platform makes sure children have fun with math and helps teachers know when a student is struggling. Boddle is one of eight winners of t...

The beef industry isn't what it used to be, and you can taste it. Matt and Matt meet up with marketing consultant and founder of River Watch Beef, Chris Kovac. In this episode of Startup Hustle, Kovac describes the ever-dropping quality of the beef industry in the United States because of the oligarchal dominance of the four largest beef producers' stronghold on the market. These producers can eas...